Review of Shortbus (2006) by Christian H — 15 Jun 2010

(from The Watermark, 08/09/2007).

The second film from Hedwig And The Angry Inch's brilliant creator-actor-director John Cameron Mitchell is like nothing you'd expect. In terms of edginess, this film makes Hedwig look like a Disney release. A low-budget ensemble piece, it tells three intersecting people-in-crisis stories: Lee is a couples therapist trying to deal with the fact that she has never experienced an orgasm. Two of her patients, a gay couple (Dawson and DeBoy) recommend an adult sex club called Shortbus for her to explore her sexuality. While at the club, Dawson & DeBoy get involved with little cutie Brannan as they deal with problems in their own relationship. Beamish, a professional dominatrix-for-hire and photo artist, is also a regular there trying to find her own identity. In pseudo-documentary style, Mitchell presents these lost souls and puts them against the backdrop of New York City's underground sex scene to surprisingly good effect. The graphic sexual content of the film, while surprising at first, ranges from hot to fun to poignant. What Mitchell is really doing is shedding light on the importance of sex in our everyday lives. I wouldn't have thought a film could so boldly and successfully dare to mesh true drama, highly affecting performances, and hardcore sex. But with Mitchell at the helm, why am I so surprised?